Its Graduation time and many young graduates will be celebrating, reminds Fire Chief Sam DiGiovanna. We all know underage drinking which can result in tragedy. Make sure your graduate passes the real final exam by talking to them about the dangers of underage drinking and drunk driving.
Know who’s driving all evening. Are your kids or a friend driving, is...
As you know, things get a lot quieter in the Coachella Valley during the summer months. Snowbirds depart while locals leave the area on holiday attempting to beat the heat.
Excluding air conditioning companies, most local businesses struggle during these months as they do not have the revenue from other markets like larger, national businesses.
Strong local businesses are critical to...
By Julie Buehler
When Jeff Webb was a La Quinta High School football player, people who watched him knew he was special. Just watch one of his catches, and you’d know he was a game-changing wide receiver.
And he was.
That’s why the San Diego State Aztecs offered him a full ride scholarship and why the Kansas City Chiefs made him one...
Week of June 4
© Copyright 2015 Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The Persian scholar Avicenna was so well-rounded in his knowledge that he wrote two different encyclopedias. Even as a teenager he was obsessed with learning all he could. He got especially consumed with trying to master Aristotle's Metaphysics, which did not easily yield its secrets to him. He...
By Dr Peter Kadile
Dr. Kadile, I exercise and try and follow a healthy diet. I don’t take any medication and my doctor hasn’t diagnosed me with any significant medical problems. Should I take a daily aspirin to play it safe and prevent a heart attack?
Walter, Palm Springs
Walter, I frequently will encounter new patients that have been taking a daily...
By Sunny Simon
My husband sighed and watched me with his “there she goes again” grin as I skillfully maneuvered another squeeze of toothpaste out of the totally flattened tube. Not really a super frugal person, but getting the last dab of paste out of every tube that finds its way into the Simon household is a challenge I rise...
10 days of Special Menus and Prices at Nearly 100 Restaurants Across the Valley begin Friday
By Judith Salkin
It’s the week foodies across the Coachella Valley circle three times in red on their calendar!
Palm Springs Restaurant Week 2015 begins tomorrow (May 29) and runs through Sunday, June 7, with more than 70 restaurants from Desert Hot Springs to Indio participating...
Recently hailed by USA Today as the best U.S. film festival for short films, the 2015 Palm Springs International ShortFest & Short Film Market announced the first 13 films chosen to represent the ShortFest Online Film Festival. Now in its fifth year, the select films will play on a special section of the festival website (http://www.psfilmfest.org/onlinefest) starting May 26....
BY DIANE MARLIN-DIRKX
Family time. Busy views through open windows. Sometimes more heard than seen. Many remembered from repeated hearings every summer from whenever. The musical clink of spoon on glass as Mom mixes lemonade through the over-the-sink kitchen window. A toddler who just learned to dress himself in swim trunks---inside-out and backwards—squealing and stomping though water from the hydrant....
Desert Ad Fed, Greater Palm Springs Convention & Visitors Bureau and Indio Chamber of Commerce are pleased to announce the winners of the 2014-2015 WOW Advertising Scholarship at a ‘Joint Mixer and Creative Pop-up’ on Wednesday, June 3 from 5:30-7:30pm at UltraStar Mary Pickford Theatre in Cathedral City.
The $10,000 WOW Advertising Scholarship awarded five students at the Junior and...
By Patte Purcell
One of the desert's favorite sons won the CV Weekly Music Award for Best Jazz artist, John Stanley King. John has received 7 CV Music Awards and was also named 'Best of the Best' in the Desert Sun. I interviewed John along with his producer Norman Merten who is producing 2 new CDs for John that are...
Week #3 of The Tilted Kilt Open Mic Competition Summer edition 2015 brought on 15 musicians and their supportive fans! The $100 weekly cash prize for 1st place, fantastic prizes for 2nd and 3rd places, plus local celebrity to judges Christina and Brett from Caxton, had the performers giving their all! DJ Alex Updike kept the crowd grooving in...
By Esther Sanchez
Chris Thomas, AKA Tiptoe Stallone is a guy who wears a lot of hats. An Indio native, Thomas is a hip hop artist, event promoter, father, community leader and youth mentor. His calm demeanor, quiet confidence, inclusive attitude and unifying spirit have earned him respect from not only the children he works with, but from many of...
By Esther Sanchez
I think it was around 7 years ago that I went to an art show in Palm Springs that was featuring works by a half-dozen or so local artists & among them was a stunningly beautiful brunette whose presence refused to be ignored. With a chic, edgy style, petite stature & bombshell curves, it was impossible not...
By Eleni P. Austin
When Punk Rock exploded in Great Britain back in 1977, few would have predicted its continued resonance in the 21st century. Most people dismissed the style as brash and unlistenable. Punk Rock was a reaction to rampant unemployment as well as the collective malaise that blanketed the country.
The music was characterized by staccato blasts of guitar,...
By Rebecca Pikus
Our Desert is being enriched more every day with Europeans & European Sensibilities. Such is the case with an extremely sophisticated, yet eclectic, gallery in Cathedral City's Artpark. Gallery Owners & Interior Designers Joannes Van Laer & Lucas Schelkens -- both from Antwerp, Belgium -- have put together an incredibly beautiful Art, Antiques, & Design gallery with...
By Janet McAfee
“Puppies are Not Products” is the title of a campaign of Best Friends Animal Society to fight the proliferation of commercial puppy mills. A puppy mill is an inhumane, usually large scale, commercial dog breeding facility where there is no regard for the health and well-being of the animals in order to maintain low overhead and maximize...
By Rick Riozza
Alors! The 2015 French Open Tennis Tournament, one of the world’s four Grand Slam tennis championship events, is now underway at Roland Garros Stadium in Paris. It’s the only Grand Slam event played on a clay surface—which is the slowest tennis surface and thus makes for the most physically demanding matches.
And for the last couple of weeks,...
By Robin E. Simmons
THE HUNDRED YEAR OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED
What’s not to love about the antics of an impish centenarian on the loose? Based on the international best seller by Jonas Jonasson, Felix Herngren’s irreverent Swedish comedy is the unlikely story of Allan Karlsson’s escape from a senior facility on his 100th birthday. After...
By Heidi Simmons
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Gathering Prey
by John Sandford
Fiction
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For common, everyday, good, and decent people, evil is difficult to comprehend. It is so irrational that when we hear about it, we find it unbelievable. They become campfire or slumber party staples. In John Sandford’s Gathering Prey (Putnam, 416 pages), horrendous nightmares are chased down and confronted.
Detective Lucas Davenport works for the Minnesota...
By Haddon Libby
Cleveland cop Michael Brelo jumps on the hood of Cleveland couple Timothy and Malissa Russell and fires fifteen shots at close distance at this unarmed couple. The couple had led the police on a high speed chase that at one point had sixty police cars and 100 officers chasing them. Clearly, the couple should have stopped but...
By Dale Gribow
If you got arrested or were in an auto accident over the Memorial Day weekend you have found yourself in a jungle. A jungle that is more dangerous than any other in which you could have gotten lost. You do not know what to do. Should you talk to the insurance company adjuster or the police? Who...
There’s been a lot of shak’in going on lately both far and near. With 57 members from Task Force 2 of the Los Angeles County Fire Dept returning home and sadly 6 members of the U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton losing their lives to assist with rescue efforts both in Nepal, make a good reminder that earthquakes can strike...
Studies show that people who skip breakfast have a harder time with weight control as they tend to snack on high calorie foods to ward off hunger.
For children, breakfast is critical as their bodies and brains are growing and need more meals and snacks than adults. Studies show that children who skip breakfast have a harder time maintaining concentration...
By Julie Buehler
A lot has been said about Tom Brady in wake of the “DeflateGate” scandal. His illustrious legacy tarnished in the eyes of many, his numerous NFL records in question in the minds of others.
He’s been called a cheat, a liar, a villain, petty, disingenuous and a thesaurus full of adjectives that may or may not be accurate...
Week of May 28
© Copyright 2015 Rob Brezsny
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Keith Moon played drums for the rock band the Who. He was once voted the second-greatest drummer in history. But his erratic behavior, often provoked by drugs or alcohol, sometimes interfered with his abilities. In 1973, the Who was doing a live concert near San Francisco when the...
By Bronwyn Ison
Are you living courageously? While you may think you are doing so, perhaps not? Living with courage translates into coming face-to-face with your fears. Facing our fears is daunting. We may have to work through what we have dusted under the rug. It may be that you have deferred this for days, weeks, months, and likely years....
By Sunny Simon
Yesterday a mystery package arrived at my door via UPS. Not celebrating anything in particular I wondered about the timing of this gift box. My excitement mounted as I dove into the package. Tucked inside, along with an array of gifts, was a note from my friend Jennifer explaining the contents.
One item was something she meant to...
Olympic Champions Help Give Coachella Valley Children Swimming Lessons & Water Safety Training
By Kira Golden
Steve Little, founder of Swim to Win, says he likes to start with the end in mind. “I figure out what my goal is and work backward from there.” With regards to his non-profit organization, his end goal has always been to stop kids from dying...
CV WEEKLY would like to eminently thank our photographers for the night: CHRIS MILLER & SCOTT PAM, who both beautifully captured the Awardees and the Performing Artists, and LAURA HUNT LITTLE who shot the Step & Repeat Red Carpet photos. You ALL did a wonderful job! Here is a collection of their snapshots from the event...
CV Music Award Winners
Best Band – Bridger
Best Rock Band – Burning...
BY DIANE MARLIN-DIRKX
This month of May is almost one for the history books, but what a wonder it has been for the denizens of our fair Coachella Valley. You know who we’re talking about. Those caring, curious, cause-aware residents who moved here thinking they were going to retire, play a little, or a lot of golf, or deal and...
King Estate Rooms for $109 Include $25 Resort Credit
By Chris Clemens
Miramonte Resort & Spa introduces the “Stay Free” package for summer, which awards a third night free and resort credit. The package affords Coachella Valley residents desiring a getaway close to home a luxury resort experience. The Mediterranean village-inspired resort features a recently renovated pool, an award-winning spa and...
By Dee Jae Cox
La cage aux folles literally means "the cage of mad women", though folles is also a slang term for effeminate homosexuals.
Palm Canyon Theatre’s production of the Tony Award winning, “LA Cage Aux Folles, book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman, is the story of two gay men who run a drag club and...
Raises Funds for the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission
By Denise Ortuno Neil
Saturday Night Laughs Comedy Show at Plan B Live Entertainment & Cocktails in Thousand Palms, benefiting the Coachella Valley Rescue Mission on Saturday, May 16th 2015, was a wonderful success!! With talented comics and one amazing magician, funds were raised to help one of the most important charities in...
By Curtis Hendricks
Tuesday, May 19, teachers gathered in front of the Desert Sands Unified School District, located in La Quinta, CA, near the intersection of 48th Ave. and Dune Palms Road, to rally their concerns for the attempted negotiations with the school district. They gathered in a strong crowd, all wearing blue shirts that read DSTA (Desert Sands Teachers...
By Patte Purcell
The crowds came out to see Hiroshima at Grooves at the Westin for the last concert of the spring series. A star studded night and event by Michael and Terri Paulo of Apaulo Productions was hosted by mover and shaker, smooth jazz promoter Jim Pedone at the beautiful Mission Hills Westin Resort and spa.
The night was beautiful...
Week #2 of The Tilted Kilt Open Mic Competition Summer edition 2015 brought a musicians and supportive fans alike! The $100 weekly cash prize for 1st place, fantastic prizes for 2nd and 3rd places, plus a local celebrity to judge each week continue to keep the performers bringing their best! DJ Alex Updike kept the crowd grooving in between...
Tilted Kilt Open Mic Competition Session 3 Winner
By Esther Sanchez
Truth be told, when I was asked to get in touch with Dan Mazer, AKA “Banjer Dan” for this article I had no idea what was in store for me. I figured we would spend 15 or 20 minutes on the phone talking about his music, the competition, his prizes...
By Lisa Morgan
Few bands have left as indelible of a mark on the history of 90s punk as Pennywise. It all started around 1989 with a few friends throwing down a backyard punk rock concert in Hermosa Beach. Only their girlfriends showed up. Pushing onward, doing more shows to more people and writing more songs, their EP landed on...
By Eleni P. Austin
“I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn and a king.” Of course that’s Frank Sinatra, but it could just as easily be Michael Des Barres, who seems to have had more lives than the proverbial cat.
Descended from French nobility, Marquis Michael Phillip Des Barres was born in Sussex, England in 1948. ...
By Monica Morones
Multi-media artist Sallé Kirby has been an influence in the art community with her bright, expressive and beautiful work. Photographer, painter, printmaker, are just a few of the many subjects this talented woman is gifted at. I first met Kirby in a photography class and I was instantly drawn to her charisma and her perspective on art. ...
By Janet McAfee
Vanessa Ruggles and Curtis Sweesy, Loving All Animals’ German Shepherd foster parents, spotted the shelter dog’s photograph and video on Facebook. The German Shepherd appeared gaunt and distressed, listed by the San Bernardino City Shelter as “rescue only” due to numerous issues including “emaciated and fearful”. The couple grew more alarmed when a second video appeared showing...
By Rick Riozza
In our last article, we arrived in Paris a couple of weeks early to commence a fun wine tasting tour to famed wine destinations only hours outside of the City of Lights. There’s no better warm-up for us wine tennis fans before settling in to watch and experience the 2015 French Open at Stade Roland Garros—which begins...
By Robin E. Simmons
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
Australian medical doctor George Miller had an idea for a movie 35 years ago, but could only raise about $400,000. So he shot the post-apocalyptic MAD MAX in rural and desert locations with a young, unknown actor named Mel Gibson. The movie became a hit and MAD MAX: ROAD WARRIOR followed. It was...
By Heidi Simmons
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Lucky Alan
By Jonathan Lethem
Stories
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It’s great to read an author whose writing is unencumbered and has nothing to worry about other than what’s on the page. In Jonathan Lethem’s Lucky Alan and Other Stories (Doubleday, 176 pages), nine stories reveal high craft and a story telling ability that goes beyond traditional and into the magical.
This is Lethem’s third...
Monday May 25th we will be remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces with Memorial Day.
Every last Monday of May, we take time off from work to reflect on the significance of this all-important celebration and enjoy many outdoor activities and events. Make this Memorial Day memorable by following some of...
With summertime upon us and daily temperatures poised to exceed 100 degrees most days over the next four months, it is important to remember to drink more fluids than you think you need in order to avoid becoming dehydrated. If you wait to drink water until you are thirsty, you are already somewhat dehydrated. Alcohol or sugary drinks are...
By Haddon Libby
The long Memorial Day weekend marks the start of summer for most. Over the next few months, many of us will be flying off to vacation destinations both domestic and abroad.
Skytrax Air Travel ranks all airlines on a five star scale using dozens of factors that span from website simplicity and general operations to the experiences in...
By Dale Gribow
This week is Memorial Day and that means “our finest” will be out in force with DUI Checkpoints for those of us drinking and partying. I am often asked if these checkpoints are legal. The short answer is YES.
Checkpoints are generally legal however there can be situations where a particular DUI checkpoint could be found illegal. Not...
By Julie Buehler
I “guaranteed” the Clippers would win Game 6.
I had watched them steamroll a stunned Rockets team into submission for 3 of the first 4 games of the series and despite an ugly and uninspired defeat in Game 5, it looked like the Clippers had turned that elusive corner from perennial disappointment to consistent contender.
So I sat behind...
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